Judge defers ruling on probe into handling of Ferguson case

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge has yet to decide on an activists' request for an independent probe of the county prosecutor's handling of grand jury proceedings in the Ferguson police shooting of Michael Brown.

St. Louis Circuit Judge Joseph Walsh III ended a hearing Friday by saying he'll weigh the matter and begin working on his ruling after a vacation next week.

The activists who filed the lawsuit want Walsh to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate county prosecutor Robert McCulloch's handling of the Brown case.

They say the grand jury's decision not to indict Darren Wilson, a white former Ferguson officer, in the fatal shooting of Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, was inappropriately influenced by McCulloch's desire for Wilson not to face charges.